Grace Cairns Interview
Typically Canadian, Grace Cairns is a ginger beaut from Muskoka, Ontario. Her outgoing and carefree attitude are reflected in her wild, orange hair and killer stare. It’s very hard not to like this 19 year old prodigy who was scouted at a grocery store. She’s been featured in Elle Girl, Numéro, and has scored 6 covers and large catalogues. This up-and-comer is sure to please as she is headed off to Europe to put every effort into her modeling career. She is currently with International Model Management, Nathalie Models in Paris, and Bravo Models in Tokyo. We plan to feature Grace Cairns in a new project here at See Like Me, so plan on seeing Grace around here a lot more. Let’s get down to the deets…
Name: Grace Cairns
Age: 19
Occupation: Full Time Poser … aka Model
Currently Resides: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Favourite Song: Oh tricky, right now its a toss up between “Hollow Point Sniper Hyperbole” by Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker and ”Revelry” by Kings of Leon. But that will change soon…
Grace Cairns: Oh the joys of cottage country. Growing up in Muskoka was fun. I believe it really helped shape the person I am today. Its a town where everybody knows everybody. Nothing too exciting ever really happens. It’s very much an outdoorsy town, I spent my entire child hood at the beach next door to my house, or in the bush snowmobiling. (Amazingly fun)I grew up without a care in the world, sheltered from regular life. My elementary school had a TOTAL of 137 students, and my high school wasn’t much larger!I was nicknamed ‘fire crotch’ in grade 7 and that ended up sticking with me even until today. I guess you could say i was a bit of a ‘cool-loser’! I fit in with every crowd, did all the regular teenage stuff (Got my first boyfriend, had my first kiss, got my first job, the usual). Muskoka was a fun place to grow up, very relaxed and easy going, it definitely shaped me into being a very relaxed and easy going person. I’ll admit that when i started traveling I was incredibly culture shocked. Small town Muskoka to HUGE cities in Asia was a definite change. But I think that my little hick town is what helped me stay grounded, I have a good support system back home, and lots of people who care about and believe in me. Muskoka has taught me to just have fun with what life gives you and dont take things too seriously. Just live and be happy!
Muskoka is awesome. I will definitely move back here when i am older.. much older. (I’m having too much fun right now)
TT: So it doesn’t take long to notice your height. And I hate to point out flaws, because you’re a regular Kate Moss. But you are only 5’8”. Is it hard to deal with at times? Do you feel “discriminated”?
GC: At first I felt really discriminated against. My agencies would either tell me they couldn’t place me in large markets like NYC or they just would never send me on runway castings. Now however i dont think it matters so much about my height anymore. I have proven i can work, and work fairly well. It took about a year but i now I have a portfolio full of tares which will help me get places in a larger market no problem. And I’ve even recently walked a few shows in Toronto and Bangkok fashion week. My goal is to show everyone that shorties can do it too.
TT: You spent a year over in Asia. What was that like? Did you find it difficult to communicate?
GC: Asia was the best experience of my life. And i recommend it to anyone starting out as a model. My first stop was in Seoul, South Korea. Amazing place. I really got a feel for being in front of a camera. I perfected my posing and mastered the art of a good casting. It was a great learning experience for a new model. It wasn’t so hard to communicate in Asia. In certain countries (South Korea and Tokyo for example) we were driven to all out casings and jobs by a manager from our agencies. They completely translated everything for us so it was really simple, we just had to smile and look pretty. In other places however (ex: Bangkok, and Hong Kong) it was a bit more difficult, we were given maps and had to find our own way by taxi or subway. It was tricky at first, but you quickly get used to it.
On our own free time though, in all these places, it was a different story. We didn’t have maps, we didn’t have translators.. we got lost ..alot. Weather we we’re trying to find a nice place to site see, or we’re on our way to a club. It usually took us jumping in and out of several taxi’s before finally getting to the proper location! Hong Kong I must say is the greatest city on earth (they have an amazing subway system). And if we got lost it was easy to find an english speaking local to point us in the right direction. Even on our free time its was easy to get around. HK is wonderful, and Asia overall was the best year of my life!
TT: Do you have any goals in your pursuit of modeling?
GC: I think my main goal in modeling is to just really have fun with it. I want to travel and see and do as much as possible. Of course i would love to hit it big. Become a household name. Prove that shorties can still be top models. But I think I’m more focused on having fun, getting the most out the whole traveling and meeting new people aspect of the job. Becoming rich isn’t my top priority, a bonus for sure, but just having fun is my main goal.
TT: Many girls would kill to be in your position. What would you say to anybody who wants to become a model?GC: One thing I can’t stress enough is make sure you are emotionally stable for the job. You will get criticized on your looks, you will be away from friends and family for long periods of time, and you will get alot of rejection. I’ve seen so many models get their hearts ripped out and trampled on. Girls that break down and cry because they think they’re fat or ugly. Make sure you can deal with the mental games the industry will throw at you. If you think you can handle it then 100% go for it! It’s an incredible job. Just make sure you have fun with it. There are some models that take the job a bit too seriously. They lock them selves in their rooms, never going out to enjoy the scenery or night life. They count every calorie and dont taste the amazing food or drink from each country. They just dont seem to be enjoying themselves. They stress themselves out, and in the end they dont book the job because they are unhappy, and it definitely shows in a photo. So have fun. Take it seriously, but not too seriously. It’s a mentally tough job, but if you can deal with it, and still be happy then DO IT! Modeling has changed my life in so many positive ways, and I’ve never had a more amazing, or fun time in my life!
TT: I hear you plan on moving to Europe for a while to further pursue your modeling career. What do you hope to accomplish over there?
GC: Well I like to keep my expectations for my self very obtainable. Basically I’m hoping to just keep doing what I’ve been doing. I wanna work consistently enough to keep my agency from sending me home. And consistently enough to make enough money, so that i can stay in Europe for at least a few months. I want to be able to hit all the major markets over there, London, Paris, Milan etc.. I want to see the world. I wanna have fun.
TT: If you had to choose a quote from a film that you made your way of life, what would the quote be?
GC: “Kids, dont buy drugs, become a pop star (model in this case) and they’ll give them to you for free!” (Love, Actually) Haha sorry I am totally kidding with that one. I dont do drugs, I’m highly against the use of drugs. Its was just the first thing that popped into my head. Im not actually sure about this one… maybe a quote from a song “Dont worry, be happy” I tell myself that on the regular! I know I’m lame..
TT: Do you hope to inspire others or are you doing this mostly to gain life experience?
GC: Well I cant use the ”inspire all small town girls they can make it in the industry too” deal, cause lets face it girls like Jessica Stam, and Amanda Laine kinda already beat me to it! So I guess im mostly doing it for the life experience… and boy have I gained a lot of that already!
TT: Leave us with something that everybody wants to hear.
GC: Ummm…. I’m single…. eh eh? No…? .. Ok i got nothing! LOL
Thanks Grace! I look forward to working with you in the near future and I know you’ll be a success! Party on Wayne. Party on Garth.